Bio of Irvin Borowsky
Mr. Irvin Borowsky ( [email protected] ) is a man with a passion for justice and the belief that all human beings are brothers and sisters.
He has lived his life with a clear vision of what the future can be if we can educate and influence the young people of the world to live, work and serve together in peace.
Irvin J Borowsky is the distinguished Founder/Chairman of both the American Interfaith Institute and the
Building on two decades of activities that celebrate the historical and diverse perspectives of the American experience, Mr. Borowsky founded the Tent of Abraham in the spirit of the first president of the
Mr. Borowsky's work reflects his commitment and unique efforts on behalf of world peace.
He believes that the escalation of violence demands that past hatreds, tribal prejudice, and politics be left behind; that new information must be reviewed openly and without prejudice.
Under the aegis of the Tent, all children of Abraham join together to protect and embrace democracy, just as the lessons of Abraham teach us to protect and embrace one another. "Through the Prophet's and Scripture, we have so much in common," Mr. Borowsky said at a recent Tent of Abraham conference in
Mr. Borowsky has written, edited, and published numerous books, newsletters, and special reports.
His leadership and dedication to building bridges between diverse peoples is echoed in his publications and program on issues which range from the understanding of faith to the faith of understanding; from the consequences and inhumanity of prejudice and bigotry to the human practicalities of conflict resolution and defusing violence.
Mr. Borowsky's philanthropic outreach is a reflection of his interests, resolve and influence.
He has inspired, served, and supported key programs and projects throughout the nation and abroad that include the Salvation Army, the National Bible Association, Jewish Federation Charities, Creative Glass Center of America, Police Athletic League, University of the Arts, and more.
MIM:
At the 2004 CSID 5th annual conference board member wannabe Borowsky delivered a paper. Al Muhajiroun spokesman Kamran Bokhari and Imad Ad Deen head of the Minaret of Freedom Institute also attended with ties to jailed AMC president Abdulrahman Alamoudi also participated in this event. (see below for more on Bokhari and Ad Deen's terrorist ties)
Irvin J. Borowsky (The American Interfaith Institute at the National Liberty Museum, PA)
"Exploring Shared Values: The Role of the Individual"
Building on two decades of programming and research, the American Interfaith Institute and the National Liberty Museum have been creating meaningful dialogue between the children of Abraham. The violence in today's world has taught us that for any hope of peace, we must face the following ultimate challenges: (a) support democratic governments; (b) be willing to leave the hatred of the past behind; (c) have the courage to bury tribal prejudices and politics; and (d) maintain an open mind to review without prejudice new information.
Our TENT OF ABRAHAM program follows in the spirit of the first president of the United States. George Washington declined an early invitation to become king of America, and instead challenged fellow leaders to make the United States a nation where people from different backgrounds and religious faiths share the same land, laws and values. America became known as the first nation to separate government and religion. Clearly, it has not always been a peaceful process. To protect our creative democracy we must be on guard against falling into our old prejudices, which we bring from our past lives, to stay true to the tolerance upon which this country was founded. The children of Abraham must join together to raise their voices to protect our democracy and to export the joys of raising families in complete freedom. It is appropriate that the American Interfaith Institute and the National Liberty Museum embrace the TENT OF ABRAHAM, just as the lessons of Abraham teach us to embrace one another. We have in common prophets, scriptures and good works. We share religious values: oneness, compassion, justice, peace, and text and commentary from the perspective of the three Abrahamic faiths. The TENT, like the American Interfaith Institute itself, is intended to be a work in progress for the ages; a beacon of hope as we discover the relationships that connect us, one to the other.
[Final Paper (PDF)] [back to top]
http://www.islam-democracy.org/5th_Annual_Conference__papers.asp
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MIM: The announcement for the CSID fundraiser which was hosted by Borowsky at the National Liberty Museum on December 9th 2006. http://www.libertymuseum.org/about/index.html
An html with the registration form can be seen below. The donor costs were $100 dollars per person and $150 per couple.
http://www.csidonline.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=358&Itemid=91
All of the speakers have closed ties to the radical Islamist network both in the United States and abroad.
*Genieve Abdo is a fellow at the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center Center for Muslim -Christian Understanding, an offshoot of the Saudi funded IIIT network (Former CSID director John Esposito now runs the center .
Abdo is a frequent speaker at the Bridgeview Mosque Foundation which has documented ties to terrorism. The BMF Imam Jamal Said is a known Hamas fundraiser and operative,and their spokesman Rafiq Jaber is the head of the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP) the American wing of Hamas . Abdo is a stauch supporter of Tariq Ramadan, a Muslim professor who was refused entry into the United States because he was designated a security risk due to his terrorist ties http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/251
*'Shayk Abdullah Idris' is the former head of the Islamic Society of North America, a group whose mission statement is in it's name i.e. to turn North America into a 'Islamic society'. Idris is a master manipulator and according to Q- News groomed the new convert president Ingrid Mattson to become head of ISNA not out of any committment to equality but in order to exploit "her gender to tug at the purse strings of generous women in order to meet ISNA's ever ambitious fund - raising targets". Which begs the question if Idris also 'tugged' at Borowsky's purse strings as well.
According to Steven Emerson"
ISNA "is a radical group hiding under a false veneer of moderation"; "convenes annual conferences where Islamist militants have been given a platform to incite violence and promote hatred" (For instance, al Qaeda supporter and PLO official Yusuf Al-Qaradhawi was invited to speak at an ISNA conference); has held fundraisers for terrorists (After Hamas leader Mousa Marzook was arrested and eventually deported in 1997, ISNA raised money for his defense); has condemned the U.S. government's post-9/11 seizure of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad financial assets; and publishes a bi-monthly magazine, Islamic Horizons, that "often champions militant Islamist doctrine." http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6178
*Asma Afsaruddin: In a recent article entitled "Of Caliphs and the Caliphate:Setting the Record Straight" she advised mainstream Muslims to call for a return of the Caliphate (a global Islamic state under shari'a law)
She rhetorically asked: "... should mainstream Muslims today want a return of the caliphate? They should - but of the first type as exemplified by the early, magnanimous Umar, and in a metaphorical sense. http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/2641
*Radwan Masmoudi the CSID executive director blames terrorism on poverty and lack of Muslim anger management skills. In other words, Muslims just cant help themselves because they have been so victimised by non Muslims and Western society.
According to Masmoudi The loss of ..." Islam's position as a dominant culture centuries ago"...and ... "anger over such failures has driven some Arabs to terrorism".
As an Arab and a Muslim, I think -- we have to think -- 'Why are we in such a mess?' But we cannot let that anger control us. We have to control our anger. Anger is good because anger gives you energy, it gives you motivation, as long as you're still using your head to determine your reaction.."http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2006-04/TerroristMotives2006-04-13-voa52.cfm
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MIM: The event posting for the CSID fundraiser at the National Liberty Museum. An html version is available below. The donation cost for the event were $100 dollars per person and $150 dollars per couple.
http://www.csidonline.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=358&Itemid=91
Special Event
The Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy and the
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Speakers | ||||||||||
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Saturday, December 9, 2006 - 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Reception at 5:30 PM and Program at 6:30 PM
At The National Liberty Museum
321 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19106
Confirmed Speakers:
Geneive Abdo,
Between Faith and Country? Muslim Life in America After 9/11
Shaykh Abdullah Idris,
Public speaker, and former president of ISNA (1992-1997)
Radwan Masmoudi,
Founder and President of CSID
Asma Afsaruddin,
Chair of CSID and Prof. of Islamic Studies, U. of Notre Dame
Irwin Borowsky,
Host, and Director of the National Liberty Museum
Enjoy great discussions and wonderful hors d’oeuvres while helping to support CSID, and strengthen the voice of moderation, dialogue, and peaceful coexistence in the world.
By supporting CSID, YOU:
Create a better future for our children so they can have more opportunities for
improving their lives and realizing their dreams.
Encourage and support interfaith dialogue and harmony, especially between
Christians, Jews, and Muslims (Children of Abraham).
Educate and inform non-Muslim Americans about Islam’s true values of tolerance,
peace, and good will towards mankind, including peoples of other faiths.
Improve U.S. relations with the Muslim world by supporting popular movements
rather than oppressive tyrannies and corrupt regimes.
Replace the feelings of hopelessness, despair, and anger in many parts of the
Muslim world, especially among the youth, with a more positive and hopeful outlook
for the future.
Build a network of Muslim democrats around the globe who can share knowledge and experience about how to build and strengthen democratic institutions and traditions in the Muslim countries.
If you cannot attend this event, please consider making a donation to support the critical and urgent work of CSID.
Please send your donations and registration fees to:
CSID
1625 Massachusetts Ave., Suite 601 Washington, DC 20036-2212
For More Information, to reserve a seat, or to buy a table, please call 202-265-1200,
e-mail [email protected] ,
or Fax to: 202-265-1222, or join/donate online at: http://csidonline.org
For Directions: http://www.libertymuseum.org/visiting/index.html
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PDF]
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File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML |
[PDF]
Results in for CSID 2005 Board Election
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File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML |
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MIM: A recent CSID conference which was co sponsored by Borowsky and his American Interfiath Institute and featured Kamran Bokhari the North American spokesman for Al Muhajiroun . Dr. Daniel Pipes called "The most extreme group operating in the West" (for more on Kamran Bokhari see articles below.
| File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML Fawaz A. Gerges (Sarah Lawrence College, NY). "The American Media and the Muslim World: ... Kamran A. Bokhari (Howard University, DC) [email protected] ... www.islam-democracy.org/documents/ |
Conference Cosponsors
Partners for Democratic Change: 2121 K Street NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20037
American Interfaith Institute: 321 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Basha Diagnostics, P.C.: 30701 Woodward Avenue – Suite LL, Royal Oak, MI 48073
[bashadiagnostics@aol."Moderate Islam, Progressive Muslims, Democracy and Post-Islamism"
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MIM: CSID fellow Bokhari was among the speakers at the conferencewhich also included Borowsky as speaker.
Kamran A. Bokhari (Howard University, DC) [email protected]
CSID Mission statement:
Our mission is two-fold:
- On the one hand, we work to produce scholarship that clarifies to what extent such Western principles are halal (permissable) from an Islamic standpoint (i.e., based on the Quran, the sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhamad (saw), and other essential components of the Islamic tradition) in the hope that this will spread knowledge in the Muslim community and better equip it to deal with today's challenges.
- At the same time, CSID strives to improve the mainstream American community and policymakers' understanding of Islam's approach towards invididual freedom, civil rights, and political pluralism by producing scholarship that counters widely held prejudices and misconceptions.
CSID strives to raise the consciousness of Muslim and non-Muslim alike in this vital matter.
http://www.islam-democracy.org/2005_board_election.asp
CSID is a membership based organization and its Board of Directors is elected by its Members. Each year, one third of the directors are elected for a three-year term.
CSID recently held its annual election for the 2005-2008 term and is pleased to announce that the following individuals have been elected to the Board (in alphabetical order):
CSID welcomes these distinguished individuals and looks forward to working with them for the promotion of freedom and democracy in the Muslim world.
The new makeup of the Board of Directors is as follows
http://www.islam-democracy.org/board.asp
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Current Directors | |
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| Past Directors | |
Note: The size of CSID's Board of Directors has been reduced from 15 to 12 for the new term. CSID also wishes to thank the following outgoing board members for their contribution to CSID's cause (*): ------------------------ CSID Executive Committee meets regularly to oversee CSID's operations and is currently made up of the following individuals from the CSID Board of Directors (though non-Board members can and have served on the EC on a case by case basis):
Past Officers on the Executive Committee (in no particular order):
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MIM: Dr. Daniel Pipes on the CSID fellow Kamran Bokhari spokesman for a group that praises the hijackers as 'The Magnificent 19'.
http://www.danielpipes.org/article/1659
The U.S. Institute of Peace Stumbles
Last week, I became a whistleblower. (According to Merriam-Webster, a whistleblower is someone "who reveals wrongdoing within an organization to the public or to those in positions of authority.")
This is not a role I expected or sought, but I felt compelled to go public when the U.S. Institute of Peace, in Washington, D.C., the taxpayer-funded organization to whose board President Bush appointed me, insisted on co-hosting an event with a group closely associated with radical Islam.
That group is the Washington-based Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy; the event was a workshop that took place — over my strenuous objections — on March 19.
Kamran Bokhari, formerly of Al-Muhajiroun, now welcome at the U.S. Institute of Peace.
Most of CSID's Muslim personnel are radicals. I brought one such person in particular, Kamran Bokhari, to the attention of USIP's leadership. Mr. Bokhari is a fellow at CSID; as such, he is someone CSID's board of directors deems an expert "with high integrity and a good reputation." As a fellow, Mr. Bokhari may participate in the election of CSID's board of directors. He is, in short, integral to the CSID.
Mr. Bokhari also happens to have served for years as the North American spokesman for Al-Muhajiroun, perhaps the most extreme Islamist group operating in the West. For example, it celebrated the first anniversary of 9/11 with a conference titled," Towering Day in History." It celebrated the second anniversary by hailing "The Magnificent 19." Its Web site currently features a picture of the U.S. Capitol building exploding. (If the site changes, an archived copy is available.)
Nor is Al-Muhajiroun's evil restricted to words and pictures. Its London-based leader, Omar bin Bakri Muhammad, has acknowledged recruiting jihadists to fight in such hotspots as Kashmir, Afghanistan, and Chechnya. At least one Al-Muhajiroun member went to Israel to engage in suicide terrorism. Al-Muhajiroun appears to be connected to one of the 9/11 hijackers, Hani Hanjour.
USIP's indirect association with Al-Muhajiroun has many pernicious consequences. Perhaps the most consequential of these is the legitimacy USIP inadvertently confers on Mr. Bokhari and CSID, permitting radicals to pass themselves off as moderates.
That legitimation follows an assumption that USIP carefully vetted CSID before working with it. But USIP did nothing of the sort.
When its leadership insisted on working with CSID, it explained its reasons: "The CSID is assessed by relevant government organizations and credible NGOs supported by the Administration to be an appropriate organization for involvement in publicly funded projects organized by both the government and NGOs, including the Institute."
Translated from bureaucratese, this says: "Others have worked with CSID, so why not us?"
But such buck-passing means that in fact no one does due diligence — each organization relies on those that came before. Once in the door, a disreputable organization like CSID acquires a mainstream aura.
Or it does until its true identity becomes clear. Over and over again, branches of the American government have been embarrassed by their blindness to jihadist Islam.
Ask the presidential candidate who had himself photographed smiling side-by-side with an Islamist who soon after was imprisoned for terrorist activities.
Ask the U.S. military, which has arrested or convicted at least seven Islamists for criminal activity connected to jihad.
Ask the New York State prison system, which recently awoke up to the fact that one of its chaplains announced that God had inflicted 9/11 as punishment on the wicked — and the victims got what they deserved.
Ask the mayor of Boston who had city land sold to the Islamic Society of Boston for less than 10% of market value, only to learn later that the organization is closely associated with one jihadi extremist banned from entering America, another sitting in federal prison, and a third who welcomes suicide bombings against Israelis as "glad tidings."
In all these cases, no one was minding the store. The lesson is simple but burdensome: each governmental institution must do its own research.
In the war on terror, it is not enough to deploy the police and the military; it is just as necessary to recognize and reject those who develop the ideas that eventually lead to violence. The American government needs to wake up to those elements in its midst whose allegiance in the war on terror is on the other side.
Response from the USIP
Subject: Center for Islam and Democracy
From: Kay King
To: xxxx
Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2004Dear xxxx:
Dr. Richard Solomon asked me to respond to your e-mail regarding the Institute's March 19 workshop on "Ijtihad: Reinterpreting Islamic Principles for the 21st Century," which we co-sponsored with the Center for Islam and Democracy (CSID).
The purpose of the workshop was to provide an occasion for Muslim scholars committed to the reform of Islam and the advancement of a moderate Islamic agenda to address some of the most troublesome obstacles to adapting Islam for life in the 21st century, with implications for the status of women, the role of democracy in the Muslim world, and the nature of interfaith relations. The panelists, who are well established and highly regarded moderate Muslim scholars, presented very thoughtful and reformist positions. We invite you to view the event on our website at http://www.usip.org/events/2004/0319wksislam.html.
The Institute was aware of and took seriously the accusations made against CSID and some of the speakers at the event. These allegations were investigated carefully with credible private individuals and U.S. government agencies and found to be without merit. The public criticism of CSID and the speakers was found to be based on quotes taken out of context, guilt by association, errors of fact, and innuendo.
The speakers invited to the event have well-established records of promoting moderate Islamic perspectives, advocating democracy within the Muslim world, and opposing terrorism. One speaker, Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, was invited by President Bush to lead a Muslim prayer at the Interfaith Prayer Service at the Washington National Cathedral after 9/11. He is also the leading Muslim participant in the Catholic/Muslim dialogue with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and has been very actively involved in other interfaith projects.
CSID, which co-sponsored the event, is judged by senior officials at the State Department and the National Endowment for Democracy, who have spoken from CSID's platform, to be a moderate organization dedicated to promoting Islamic reform and the establishment of democracy in Muslim countries. It strongly opposes dictatorship everywhere in the Arab and Muslim worlds.
With regard to the concern about Kamran Bokhari, this individual was not involved in the March 19 workshop in any way. He severed his ties to the al-Muhajiroun organization five years ago, prior to joining CSID, and has publicly denounced terrorism and political violence.
The Institute, in accordance with its Congressional mandate, and as requested by the Administration, is focusing on the full range of issues associated with relations between the United States on the one hand, and the varied countries of the Muslim world on the other hand. Institute programming does not represent endorsement of particular views. Our events intentionally bring together those of differing perspectives to highlight critical issues and provide guidance to policymakers. That said, there are clear limits regarding whom we will allow to use the Institute's podium. Advocates of violence are among those we would refuse to provide a platform.
Again, we appreciate your having taken the time to contact us with your concerns.
Kay King
Director, Congressional and Public Affairs
U.S. Institute of Peace
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MIM: Kenneth Timmerman also weighed in on the radical Islamist ties of the CSID . Dr.Pipes told him the CSID is "on the wrong side" in the war on terror.
http://www.danielpipes.org/pf.php?id=1650
Pipes Objects to Fox in the Henhouse
by Kenneth R. Timmerman
Insight Magazine
March 19, 2004The congressionally funded United States Institute of Peace will host an event today in Washington on reforming Islam, with a guest panelist who has threatened the United States and openly supported terrorist groups, Insight has learned.
Among the guests in this afternoon's panel discussion is Muzammil Siddiqi, who until November 2001 was president of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), a leading Wahhabi front organization in the United States. Wahhabism is a radical form of Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia and advocated by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his terrorist leaders.
Siddiqi has accompanied visiting Saudi officials from the Muslim World League on fund-raising tours across America, and is listed on its Website as the organization's official representative in the United States. Offices of the Muslim World League in Herndon, Va., were raided by a federal antiterrorism task force in March 2002 because of suspected ties to al-Qaeda.
During an anti-Israel rally outside the White House on Oct. 28, 2000, Siddiqi openly threatened the United States with violence if it continued its support of Israel. "America has to learn ... if you remain on the side of injustice, the wrath of God will come. Please, all Americans. Do you remember that? ... If you continue doing injustice, and tolerate injustice, the wrath of God will come." By "injustice," he meant U.S. support for Israel.
Siddiqi also has called for a wider application of sharia law in the United States, and in a 1995 speech praised suicide bombers. "Those who die on the part of justice are alive, and their place is with the Lord, and they receive the highest position, because this is the highest honor," he was quoted as saying by the Kansas City Star on Jan. 28, 1995.
A Bush appointee to the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) says he must distance himself from today's event because it associates the USIP with groups "on the wrong side in the war on terrorism." USIP board member Daniel Pipes tells Insight that, in addition to his objection to Siddiqi, he has warned the USIP about the presence of the U.S. spokesman of al-Muhajiroun, a London-based group that claims to be recruiting jihadis for a worldwide "Mohammed's army" faithful to bin Laden.
Pipes tells Insight: "I believe that President [George W.] Bush appointed me to the USIP board in part to serve as a watchdog against militant Islamic groups. Unfortunately the management of USIP is not listening to my advice. I cannot be associated with the event today which associates USIP with some of the very worst militant Islamic groups."
Kay King, a spokesperson for USIP Chairman Richard Solomon, said USIP was "not aware of the allegations about Siddiqi, and we will look into them." However, she pointed out that Siddiqi "has attended Bush administration events with the president, and was invited to lead a prayer" at the national prayer breakfast following the September 11 attacks.
The March 19 event is cohosted by USIP and the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID), a U.S.-based group that was created by board members and former staff of the American Muslim Council (AMC), a radical pro-Saudi group that largely ceased operations after its former chairman, Abdulrahman Alamoudi, was jailed last October on terrorist-related charges.
Pipes raised his concerns with USIP Chairman Chester Crocker and President Richard Solomon over the "extremist nature of CSID itself" starting last November. In addition to board members and an executive director who shifted over to the new group from AMC, Pipes pointed out that CSID fellow Kamran Bokhari has ties to al-Muhajiroun, an al-Qaeda support group. Until last year, Bokhari was the self-acknowledged North American spokesman for al-Muhajiroun.
Insight reported on the group's first anniversary "celebration" of the 9/11 attacks, held at the radical Finsbury mosque in London, where al-Muhajiroun showed off a poster that portrayed a burning World Trade Center under attack and called September 11 "a towering day in history."
At the group's second anniversary 9/11 "celebration," its members distributed a poster with photographs of all 19 hijackers, calling them "the magnificent 19."
CSID "fellows" are not research assistants, but integral members of the leadership of the organization. According to a copy of the CSID bylaws Insight has obtained, CSID fellows are responsible for electing the group's board of directors. All board members must first be fellows.
Bokhari has issued a statement denouncing political violence and al-Qaeda, and referred to himself as a "former Islamist activist." But given his leadership role with al-Muhajiroun, Pipes says, such statements were "deeply insufficient to rehabilitate him ... or make him someone suitable to be associated with USIP."
Pipes first raised concerns over the planned event in November, when the USIP initially had invited Taha Jaber Al-Alwani to speak on a panel to discuss reforming Islam. Al-Alwani was publicly identified in an affidavit by U.S. Customs special agent David Kane, unsealed just weeks earlier, as a director of "Safa Group companies including International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), FIQH council of North America, Graduate School of Islamic & Social Sciences ... and Heritage Education Trust."
The IIIT offices were raided in March 2002 as part of Operation Greenquest, a joint federal antiterrorism task force. IIIT has received money and sponsorship from the government of Saudi Arabia, and according to the affidavit had sponsored Basheer Nafi, "an active directing member of [Palestinian Islamic Jihad] front organizations" in the United States.
Following Pipes' objection, the USIP postponed the initial event and canceled its invitation to Al-Alwani to join the panel discussion, but continued to work with CSID despite Pipes' claims that the group included among its leadership individuals who were on the "wrong side" in the war on terror.
USIP spokesperson Kay King says the institute has "done due diligence" on CSID and found the group to be "moderate" and "responsible."
"We know that CSID has gotten grants form the State Department and from the National Endowment for Democracy," she said. "They are an organization that has been found appropriate by U.S. government agencies."
CSID showcases moderate Muslim thinkers such as professor Abdulaziz Sachedina of the University of Virginia. However, many board members have either led or worked for groups that were targets of a federal antiterrorist task force raid in March 2002.
CSID founding board member Jamal Barzinji headed the "500 Grove Street" charities in Herndon, Va., that were the target of the Greenquest task force. He left the CSID board in April 2003.
Another CSID founding board member, Louay M. Safi , is director of research at IIIT, according to the biography posted on the CSID Website. He is reported previously to have worked at an IIIT offshoot in Malaysia.
The CSID board also includes Muslim leaders who are former or current board members of the American Muslim Council, starting with CSID chairman Ali A. Mazrui. "CSID is part of the militant Islamist lobby," Pipes tells Insight. "It is well-disguised, and has brought in all the Islamist trends, giving them a patent of respectability."
The group's executive director in 2002 was Abdulwahab Alkebsi, a former AMC staff member. Alkebsi also is reported to have worked for the Islamic Institute in Washington, and now runs democracy programs in Iraq for the National Endowment for Democracy that have promoted, among others, the Iraqi Communist Party.
Kenneth R. Timmerman is a senior writer for Insight
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MIM: -Borowosky opened an art gallery at the Gershman Y where he is listed as a 'leader' donor.
http://www.gershmany.org/Sponsors.asp
1985 Joel Gershman and Elaine Levitt Gershman dedicated the building at Broad and Pine Streets in honor of Joel's parents, Charles and Elizabeth Gershman. Today, as in 1924, The Gershman Y continues to be a cultural beacon for the Greater Philadelphia community. The Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival, which is entering its 25th Silver Anniversary season, continues to expand. A variety of lecture series provide intellectual stimulation, an array of classes provides participants with opportunities for personal growth and expression, and special events and performances entertain our audiences. The Gershman Y houses The Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in the Rose and Adolph Levis Museum, The Borowsky Art Gallery and The Open Lens Photography Gallery. The University of The Arts purchased the Broad and Pine building in October of 2000 and a cultural and educational union was formed - further positioning The Y as an arts, cultural and educational destination for all ages. The Gershman Y is the Center City Arts and Cultural Branch of the Jewish Community Centers of Greater Philadelphia, in partnership with the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.
MIM: A recent award ceremony at the National Liberty Museum featured several prominent Philadelphia executives. They appear to be donateurs to the Museum. This means that their funding has helped the Center for the Study of Islam an Democracy, on whose behalf Borowsky held a fundraiser on December 9th.
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MIM: Borowsky is also on the Salvation Army National Advisory Board , ( a Christian charitable organisation which also missionizes using the New Testament).
Borowsky's inclusion on the board highlights his theological confusion, given the fact that he wanted to rewrite the New Testament because he thought it was anti semitic.http://www.naoc2007.org/nab/index.asp
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MIM: A press release announcing the recent awardees of the National Libery Museum medal
Jay and Sherry Sidhu to Receive National Liberty Museum's Heroes of Liberty Award
Tuesday December 5, 2006
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/061205/phtu047.html?.v=48
PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Jay S. Sidhu, chairman of Sovereign Bancorp, Inc., and Sherry Sidhu, his wife, will be presented with the National Liberty Museum's Heroes of Liberty Award at the museum's 2006 Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2006 at 5:30 p.m. at the Crystal Tea Room in Philadelphia. Albert R. Boscov, chairman emeritus, Boscov's Department Stores, Inc., will present the Sidhus with their award. Boscov is a longtime friend of the Sidhus.
Also being honored with the Heroes of Liberty Award are Drs. Josephine and John M. Templeton, Jr. of Bryn Mawr, Pa.
The Heroes of Liberty Award is presented annually to local individuals who are living examples of the high ideals and principles to which the National Liberty Museum is dedicated.
The National Liberty Museum works to defuse violence and bigotry by celebrating America's heritage of freedom and tolerance. Using the stories of more than 1,000 heroes of liberty and democracy worldwide, its galleries seek to inspire visitors on an individual level. A resource for more than 2,000 children every month, the Museum's Education Department features interactive diversity and conflict-resolution training.
About Sovereign
Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. ("Sovereign") (NYSE: SOV - News), is the parent company of Sovereign Bank, a $90 billion financial institution with nearly 800 community banking offices, over 2,000 ATMs and approximately 12,000 team members with principal markets in the Northeast United States. Sovereign offers a broad array of financial services and products including retail banking, business and corporate banking, cash management, capital markets, wealth management and insurance. Sovereign is the 16th largest banking institution in the United States. For more information on Sovereign Bank, visit http://www.sovereignbank.com or call 1-877-SOV-BANK.
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MIM: Three weeks after the Center for the Study for Islam and Democracy fundraiser Dr. John and Pina Templeton were awarded the Heroes of Liberty Award. The speech was reprinted by the Evening Bulletin newspaper under the heading 'Res Ipsa Loquitur'. Dr. Templeton thanked those assembled for "their support of this extraordinary museum".
http://www.theeveningbulletin.com/
My wife, Pina, and I want to thank you for the very great honor of being named "Heroes of Liberty" of the National Liberty Museum. Both of us subscribe wholeheartedly to the mission and goals of the National Liberty Museum of keeping alive the flame of liberty which was given to us by others. We accept this award with sincere gratitude, but we hope that you will forgive us for suggesting that we do not really see ourselves as heroes. I think that I have some idea of what a real hero is. There is a world of difference between true heroism and what Pina and I have done as physicians and philanthropists.
This wonderful museum is sometimes known as "America's Home for Heroes." You honor men, women and young people of all walks of life who dared to step beyond their comfort zones to help to make the world a better place - from world leaders to the firefighters and police who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. These are the real Heroes of Liberty. The same recognition of heroism belongs to our men and women who have served or are serving in our Armed Forces. They are the ones who deserve our gratitude, not only on a special evening like tonight, but every day of our lives.
The best way for us to remember their heroism is for us to recall the staggering number of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice - namely, their willingness to die for freedom here and abroad. These men and women saw that liberty could not survive in America without the willingness of the people to make every sacrifice necessary to assure that our children and grandchildren will continue to live in freedom.
First of all, it is important to recall all those Americans, 230 years ago, who gave their lives so that future Americans might live in a country founded on the principles of self-government as expressed in the Declaration of Independence. In this document our forefathers said: "Men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights"... and "that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among Men deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, ... and that for the support of their Declaration with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor." Years later (1823) in a letter to James Madison, Thomas Jefferson wrote, "I pray God that these principles may be eternal."
It is also important to recall that the Revolutionary War was not only the second longest war America has ever fought, but that Washington and his loyal troops lost many more battles than they won. In spite of the sacrifices of the American forces, they persisted for 8 long years before America won its freedom. Without this sustaining spirit of self-sacrifice by those in America's early Army and Navy, we would not have won the precious heritage of freedom passed down to us.
In the Civil War, over 360,000 (364,000) Northern troops died in order to end slavery in the United States forever. This was the first and only time in the history of the world that so many troops of one race gave their lives in order to bring freedom to people of another race.
Then, in World War II, during the Normandy invasion, over eighty-two hundred (8,265) Americans were killed during the six day invasion. This sacrifice, however, resulted in the beginning of the end for the totalitarian regime of Nazi Germany and the cruel Holocaust that they unleashed.
In the Pacific in 1945, two relatively short battles for Iwo Jima and Okinawa resulted in nearly 20,000 American combat deaths. The capture of these two islands, however, contributed significantly to the shortening of the war with Japan by one whole year. Without these heroic American losses, it may have been necessary for the Allies to invade the Japanese mainland which may well have resulted in the deaths of 300,000 American troops and the deaths of 2 million Japanese.
Finally, over 54,000 Americans gave their lives in the three-year Korean War. Just consider how different the world would be if, in 1950, with their backs against the sea, American forces in Korea just quit and went home. If the Americans had not determined to throw back the invading North Korean Army, all of Korea today would be one vast, morally depraved, totalitarian country.
These are just a few examples of the sacrifices of true heroes -heroes who have preserved not only our own liberties, but also the liberties of others. It is these heroes who should be the object of our deepest gratitude.
Several years ago, Father Dennis O'Brien, who was chaplain of the First Marine Division, wrote a tribute, called "It is the Soldier." It was dedicated to those troops who sacrificed their lives for the sake of others. What he wrote has greatly helped many people to put in true perspective who it is that has made possible our First Amendment rights and all the other rights we enjoy as Americans.
He wrote:
"It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
"It is the soldier, not the clergyman, who has given us freedom of religion.
"It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
"It is the soldier, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.
"It is the soldier who follows the flag into battle, who salutes the flag.
"Whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.
"It is the soldier, it has always been the soldier.
In closing, Pina and I are deeply grateful for the extraordinary honor shown to us this evening. But, we also hope that you will agree that we must never forget and must continue to honor those millions of Americans (2,757,196) who have given their lives that our liberty may long endure.
The threats to our liberty are perhaps greater now than ever before. As we show the same resolve and the same spirit of self-sacrifice as those Americans who have gone before us, we shall rise once again to the occasion and overcome any tyranny that threatens liberty both at home and abroad.
And so, thank you so very much to the National Liberty Museum for keeping that precious flame of liberty alive.
And, thanks to all of you for lending your support to this extraordinary museum.
Thank you.
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http://www.libertymuseum.org/about/index.html
Presenting Peaceful Ways to Resolve Conflict
With so much violence in the world today, it's important to experience a place in America that celebrates the alternative. The National Liberty Museum provides an array of hands-on exhibits that demonstrate easy, practical and fun ways to resolve conflicts peacefully.
MIM: Anyone interested in supporting the museum's endeavors can buy an Anne Frank T Shirt in the gift shop- one size fits all- or a hand -painted martini glass by 'Lolita', presumably for non Muslims only.
Product #360037
Anne Frank
T-Shirt - Large
100% pre-shrunk beige cotton T-shirt with inspiring silk screened image on back (shown here) and National Liberty Museum logo on front.
http://www.libertymuseum.org/giftstore/giftstore.htm
Product #26596-2
Love My Martini - Shopaholic
Hand-painted martini glass by Lolita. Your guests will be delighted to find a unique, delicious recipe printed on the bottom of each glass. Additional designs available at the National Liberty Museum gift shop.
$21.95
http://www.libertymuseum.org/giftstore/giftstore.htm
http://www.faithsforfairness.org/about.htm
About the American Interfaith Institute
For over 23 years, the American Interfaith Institute has engaged distinguished scholars to participate in research, initiate educational programs and author books and reports that remove the seeds of hatred that are seminal to religious prejudice. The Institute's network represents many of the world's leading Biblical translators, authors and researchers.
The president of the American Interfaith Institute is a Presbyterian, Dr. Howard Clark Kee. He is the William Goodwin Aurelio Professor of Biblical Studies Emeritus at Boston University and the author of numerous books and special reports.
Founder and Chairman Irvin J. Borowsky serves on the boards of the Salvation Army, the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, the National Bible Association, and other interfaith organizations. He is the publisher/editor of the American Interfaith Institute's library of books, newsletters and educational materials.
The Institute's publications are utilized by a broad readership worldwide. Our newsletters include:
EXPLORATIONS – directed to Bible publishers and translators, editors of Sunday school curriculum, professors teaching the next generation of priests and ministers, and other influential Christian leaders of the world.
TENT OF ABRAHAM – directed to Muslims involved in democratic values.
The governing board of the American Interfaith Institute is comprised of representatives of diverse religious communities. The board selects and guides projects that warrant attention and meet the mission of the organization. Together, they work with staff to develop programs for the 60,000+ annual visitors to the Institute's educational facility.
The Institute's headquarters are located in the heart of historic Philadelphia at 321 Chestnut Street, 19106.
-----------------------------------------------------
MIM: The program of the 2005 CSID conference reads like a Who's Who of radical Islamists (with dh Borowsky as token dhimmi ) and was co sponsored by his American Interfaith Institute.
Among the speakers were Kamran Bokhari and Imam Hassan Qazwini the head of the Islamic Center of Dearborn and Imad Ad Deen from the Minaret of Freedom Institute.
Ad Deen has attended seminars in the MIddle East together with Ahmed Yusuf and other terror supporters. Yusuf fled the United States last year after law enforcement crackdown on Hamas operatives which lead to the deportation of his friend Cleveland Imam Fawaz Damra, for lying about his membership in a terrorist group on a citizenship application.
In 2001 Imad Ad Deen (in waiscot() travleled to Beirut for the first (Hamas) conference on Jerusalem where he is pictured with Abdel Rahman Alamoudi (who was jailed in 2003 for 23 years on terrorism related charges including a plot to assassinate Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia with the help of Libyan agents. Ahmed Yusuf in the grey coat ran the UASR -The United Association for Studies and Research. http://www.meforum.org/article/388
At the Borowsky co sponsored conference Ahmad Ad Deen spoke the topic of "Shariah Natural Law and Institutional Governance".
At the 2001 Beirut conference Ad Deen gave his views about interfaith peace and harmony and the Zionist problem.
http://www.minaret.org/beirutconference.htm
"...I came to this meeting looking forward to dealing with practical issues of constructing a new international organization dedicated to the liberation of Jerusalem.After listening to the general comments today, I have no doubt of the firmness of the conviction of every person here to see Jerusalem liberated..." "...The American people are well-meaning, but lack knowledge of the true nature of Zionism, hearing only what the Zionist-controlled media and politicians have let them know..." "...The American people are unaware of Zionism's history, its racist foundation, its colonialist nature, and the systematic brutality of its daily dealings with the indigenous people of Palestine.Most Americans do not even know that there are Christian Palestinians.Without American aid to Israel, Israeli intransigence would become impossible.The education of the American people is an invaluable element of the work before us. I came here in the hopes that this organization could play a role in that education.If this organization will abandon the duplicitous and heirarchical modes of operation that have plagued the Muslim world for hundreds of years and operate as the open and transparent agency of afraid of no one and nothing but Allah subhana wa ta'allah, then my hopes, including the liberation of Palestine, may yet come to pass. .."
Akűlu kawla hadhi wa astghfirallahul adhîm.
Jazâkum Allah al-khair
MIM: Imad Ad Deen's recently posted this guest blog on their Minaret of Freedom Institute website recently by Al Hajj Mauri Salaakhan of the 'Peace and Justice Foundation' entitled :
(Abu Musab Al Zawaqawi) "Martyr or Murderer?"
The question for Muslim observers around the world regarding the successful targeted killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is how should we view this individual (according to Qur'an and Sunnah) — as a revered martyr or a reviled murderer? In this brief commentary I will share my own humble view.
Any informed and objective analysis of the Iraq crisis will show, al-Zarqawi was never THE DOMINANT FIGURE in the so-called "insurgency," that the American/British led occupation made him out to be...
To the non-Muslim warmongers (on the ground, and in high places), who are celebrating the demise of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi right now - be assured that your day will also come, when you too will have to answer, to THE MOST JUST of judges, for the innocent blood on your hands.
El-Hajj Mauri' Saalakhan
Director of Operations
The Peace And Justice Foundation
MIM: Imad Ad Deen and his Minaret of Freedom Institute highlight the true agenda of the CSID members as does Kamran Bokhari who also spoke at the Borowsky co sponsored CSID conference on the subject of "Designing Islamic Democracy" which means implementing shari'a in American. 'Legal Islamists' like those at the CSID use democracy as a code word bringing the Caliphate using Constitutional safeguards as a means of undermining America in the guise of promoting Muslim civil rights.
Bokhari real views on the subject were posted on a message board in 1998.
as-Salamoalaikum
Ittaqallah Ya Abu Khadaja!!!!!!!!!
For Allah's sake stop attacking HizbutTahrir and Al-Muhajiroun and instead
attack these rulers in the muslim world that are responsible for the misery of
the uummmah and the world at large. These kufr regimes are the obstacles to
the rise of Islam as the dominant way of life in the world.
Yours-in-Islam
Kamran Bokhari
Springfield, MO, USA
-----------------------
MIM: Bokhari's views on interfaith dialouge were also displayed on a message board after he launched a slander campaign against a Muslim convert named Ruben accusing her of being a Zionist.
Sat, Jul 18 1998 12:00 am
Bismillah ir Rahman ir Rahim
As salatu was salamu alayka Ya RasulAllah!
As salamu alaykum, Muslimeen and Mohmineen:
Recently there has been a hate campaign launched on the Internet which
has served shaytan by sewing seeds of doubt in the hearts of Muslims
and causing them to question the core of some very valuable work in the
Muslim community. I am writing today as this campaign is focused on
discrediting me and has labelled me, without any shred of evidence, as a
Zionist. This action has become so intense that my silence, which I
hoped would extinguish the flames, has now become haram.Some weeks ago, a coward by the name of Amer al-Shawa launched a
vicious campaign on the Internet inventing the name "Cynthia Robenstein"
who he indicated is a Zionist plant in the Muslim community, posing as
a Muslim. I am not Jewish, nor are my parents, nor have I ever been
married to a Jew, nor have I ever been aligned with the cursed tool of
shaytan, Zionism.It is pitiful that anyone such as yourself can use the Internet with
impunity. And this applies to your friend Kamran Bokhari who claims to
call for "khilafa.---------------------------------------------------------------
MIM: The CSID new dhimmi Jew in the form of Irving J. Borowski, and their event at the Liberty Museum bolsters the CSID facade that they are interested in interfaith understanding just like their colleagues Imad ad Deen and Kamran Bokhari cited above.
Washington, DC 20037
Telephone: 202-942-2183
Facsimile: 202-628-8189
E-mail: [email protected]
http://www.islam-democracy.org
Board of Directors
Dr. Asma Afsaruddin, Chair
Dr. Antony T. Sullivan, Vice - Chair
Dr. Abdulaziz Sachedina
Dr. Akbar S. Ahmed
Dr. Asma Barlas
Mr. Irvin J. Borowsky
Dr. Joseph Montville
Dr. Louay M. Safi
Dr. Najib Ghadbian
Dr. Radwan A. Masmoudi
Dr. Robert Schadler
Dr. Yahya M. Basha
_____________________________________________________________
Ms. Layla Sein – Conference Coordinator
_____________________________________________________________
Conference Committee
Organizing Committee
Dr Asma Afsaruddin - Chair
Ms. Layla Sein – Conference Coordinator
Dr. Antony T. Sullivan
Mr. Aly R. Abuzaakuk
Dr. Muqtedar Khan
Ms. Aalaa A. Abuzaakuk
Dr. Radwan A. Masmoudi
Mr. Zahir Janmohamed
Dr. Louis J. Cantori
Mr. Omar El-Masri
Dr. Asma Barlas
Dr. Robert Schadler
________________________________________________________________________
Conference Cosponsors
Partners for Democratic Change: 2121 K Street NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20037
American Interfaith Institute: 321 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Basha Diagnostics, P.C.: 30701 Woodward Avenue – Suite LL, Royal Oak, MI 48073
Strategic Studies Initiatives, Kingdom Holdings, UK
|
Page 2 |
Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy (CSID)
Sixth Annual Conference
Democracy and Development:
Challenges for the Islamic World
Marriott Wardman Park Hotel
2660 Woodley Road NW - Washington, DC 20008
Friday & Saturday, April 22 – 23, 2005
Friday, April 22, 2005
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Registration
(Washington Foyer)
9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Welcoming Remarks
(Washington Rooms 1-3)
Asma Afsaruddin (Conference Program Chair)
Radwan A. Masmoudi (CSID President)
9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Session 1
(Washington Rooms 1-3)
Internal Resources and their Relevance
Chair: Louay M. Safi (Islamic Society of North America [ISNA], IN)
"Islam, Development, and the Social Construction of Religion"
Robert F. Shedinger (Luther College, IA) [email protected]
"Reconciling Secular Government with Islamic Law"
Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad (Minaret of Freedom Institute, MD)
"Is Secularism a Prerequisite or a Result of Democracy?
Islamists at the End of History"
Shadi A. Hamid (Georgetown University, DC) [email protected]
"Islam and Civil Society in Indonesia"
Robin Bush (The Asia Foundation, Indonesia) [email protected]
11:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
Break
11:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Session 2
(Washington Rooms 1-3)
Paradigms for Economic Development
Chair: Robert Schadler (Educational Enrichments, DC)
"Barriers to Economic Development in the Arab World"
Paul Sullivan (National Defense University, DC) [email protected]
"Military Expenditure and Economic Development:
A Comparative Study"
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Page 3 |
Sofia Mariam Khilji (Georgetown University, DC) [email protected]
"Human Development: The Unallocated Natural Resources
in our Muslim World"
Sherif Mansour (Ibn Khaldun Center, Egypt) [email protected]
"A Politic of Partnership: Government-Association Relationship in
Morocco"
Nicole S. Bennett (Fulbright Scholar, Morocco)[email protected]
12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Jumah Prayer
Washington Room 6
1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Luncheon Keynote Address
Washington Rooms 4 & 5
Keynote Speakers:
Andrew Natsios, USAID, DC
"Democracy and the Islamic World"
Carl Gershman, National Endowment for Democracy (NED), DC
"Why Muslims Want Democracy"
Lorne Craner, International Republican Institute [IRI], DC
"Progress and the Road Ahead"
2:30 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Session 3
(Washington Rooms 1-3)
Open Forum: Voices of Muslim Democrats: Political Reform in the Muslim World
Chair: Radwan A. Masmoudi (Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, DC)
Ali Paya, Iran
Merve Kavakci, Turkey
Aminah Rasul-Bernardo, Philippines
Anara Tabyshalieva, Kyrgyzstan
Saurjan T. Yakupov, Uzbekistan
Mahmoud Rashdan, Jordan
Muhammad Al-Habash, Syria
Saoud al-Mawla, Lebanon
4:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Break
4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
CSID General Annual Meeting
(
CSID Members Only)
7:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Annual Banquet
(Virginia Suites A, B, & C)
Banquet Keynote Speakers:
Michael G. Kozak, Department of State
Saad Eddine Ibrahim, American University in Cairo, Egypt
Anwar Ibrahim, Muslim Democrat of the Year Award
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Page 4 |
Saturday April 23, 2005
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Registration
(
Washington Foyer)
9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Session 4
(Washington Rooms 1-3)
The Impact of Globalization on Democratization & Development
Chair: Antony T. Sullivan (University of Michigan, MI)
"Prospects for an American Muslim Polity: Implications for
Muslim World Democratization"
Mohamed Nimer (Council on American-Islamic Relations [CAIR], DC)
"Islam, Development and Reform in the Arab World"
Tarik M. Yousef (Georgetown University, DC) [email protected]
"Building A Modern Islamic State: Practical Issues"
Wael Nawara (Hizb El-Ghad, Egypt) [email protected]
"Globalization's Impact on Development and Democracy in Pakistan"
Ahsan Iqbal (Former Minister for Economic Planning, Pakistan)
10:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
Break
10:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Session 5
(Washington Rooms 1-3)
Women and Political Economic Development
Chair: Asma Barlas (Ithaca College, NY)
"Rape Law in Islamic Societies: Theory, Application, and the
Potential for Reform"
Julie Norman (American University, DC) [email protected]
"The Impact of the Hijab on the Political Participation of Muslim Women: Defining
Identity and Creating Space in the Public Sphere"
Saeed A. Khan (Wayne State University, MI) [email protected]
"More than Clothing: Veiling as a Cultural, Social, Political and Ideological Symbol
in our Changing Society"
Serap Kantarci (Tufts University, MA) [email protected]
"Back to Basics? Reading, Writing, and Religious Extremism in the Lives of
Egyptian Women"
Mary Knight (New York University, NY) [email protected]
12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Luncheon Keynote Address
Washington Rooms 4 & 5
Anisa Mehdi (Whetstone Productions, NJ):
"The Tangle of Language: Challenges in Reporting"
S. Abdallah Schleifer (American University in Cairo, Egypt)
"Arab Satellite Television: Its Impact on Development and Democracy"
Fawaz A. Gerges (Sarah Lawrence College, NY)
"The American Media and the Muslim World: Personal Reflections"
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Page 5 |
2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Session 6
(Washington Rooms 1-3)
Barriers to Development
Chair: Joe Montville (Center for Strategic and International Studies [CSIS], DC)
"The Path toward Democratization: What is the Real Impediment?"
Feriha Perekli (Indiana University, IN) [email protected]
"Political, Economic and Cultural Barriers to Development in the Islamic
World"
Adib F. Farha (Lebanese American University, Lebanon)
"
The Oil Peril to Democracy and Development in Muslim Nations"
Gordon O. F. Johnson (Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and
Liberty, MI) [email protected]
"Barriers to Development: How to Address Corruption and Oppression in
the Arab World"
Hassan Qazwini (Islamic Center of America, MI) [email protected]
3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Break
4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Session 7
(Washington Rooms 1-3)
Identifying Conceptual and Functional Pre-Requisites for
Democratization in the Muslim World
Chair: Najib Ghadbian (University of Arkansas, AR)
"Moderate Islam, Progressive Muslims, Democracy and Post-Islamism"
Kamran A. Bokhari (Howard University, DC) [email protected]
"Designing Islamic Democracy"
Muqtedar Khan (Adrian College, MI) [email protected]
"Promoting Democracy in the Muslim World: from Theory to Practice"
Farid Senzai (Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, MI)
"Democracy with an Adjective: Liberal Democracy in a
Muslim Society"
Bican Shahin (Hacettepe University, Turkey) [email protected]
5:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Closing Remarks
(Washington Rooms 1-3)
Antony T. Sullivan (Vice Chair, CSID Board of Directors)
Asma Afsaruddin (Conference Program Chair)
-----------
MIM: An account of the NLM Banquet posted on the CSID website:
CSID - NLM Dinner Banquet
http://www.csidonline.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=371&Itemid=73#persian
The Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy and the National Liberty Museum, held a dinner banquet titled:
American Muslims Join the Liberty Trail
How to build Religious Harmony and Understanding In America and the World
Speakers:
Geneive Abdo, Between Faith and Country? Muslim Life in America After 9/11
Shaykh Abdullah Idris, Public speaker, and former president of ISNA (1992-1997)
Radwan Masmoudi, Founder and President of CSID
Asma Afsaruddin, Chair of CSID and Prof. of Islamic Studies, Univ. of Notre Dame
Irwin Borowsky, Host and Director of the National Liberty Museum
The Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy (CSID) and the National Liberty Museum held a dinner banquet in the evening hours of Saturday, December 9th, 2006 at the National Liberty Museum, 321 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA.
The event titled American Muslims Join the Liberty Trail: How to build religious harmony and understanding in America and the world, attracted guests of various religious and ethnic backgrounds to listen to, and take part in, a vibrant panel discussion, the theme of which was support for interfaith dialogue and harmony.
After hors doeuvres and some welcoming remarks from Dr. Radwan Masmoudi, Founder and President of CSID, and Mr. Irwin Borowsky, Director of the National Liberty Museum, Ms. Geneive Abdo; author of Mecca and Main Street: Muslim Life in America After 9/11, took the podium. In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, Ms. Abdo explained, Young Muslims are becoming more religious than their parents. The terrorist attacks forced Muslims to defend the faith, explain the faith and turn inward to some extent to form a more cohesive community, she said. Moreover, Abdo explained, it is imperative that this growing Islamic identity not be misconstrued as a radicalization of American Muslims. And since the American media is quite likely not going to educate the American people to this, a moderate voice in the form of Islamic activists, advocacy groups and institutions must in a very serious way join the public debate and somehow get the message out that there are militant Muslims, but that this in no way represents the views of the 1.3 billion Muslims around the world.
Among the many things that CSID does is to educate people also, to engage policy makers. CSID, Abdo explained, is in a prime position to be a voice for Muslims in the American political process that seems to always be talking about Muslims and Islam, but never includes Muslims. So it is very important for Americans and Muslims to support organizations like CSID in order for there to be a very well organized political structure for Muslims in this country.
To introduce the impetus behind CSIDs inception, and the nature of CSIDs work, Dr. Masmoudi assumed the podium. The crises in the Muslim Ummah, explained Dr. Masmoudi, are: poor education & illiteracy, unemployment, hunger & poverty, violence & wars, and corruption. The root cause of this is corrupt and oppressive governments; weak, divided and immature political movements; a lack strategic thinking & planning, and a lack of freedoms & Innovation. The solution: good governments that are elected by the people, held accountable to the people, and serve the people. CSIDs strategy: to organize conference and seminars bringing together democrats (moderate Islamists, secularists, and others), to educate the masses in democracy; how it works and how it is compatible with Islam, to establish; train and support a network of democrats in the Muslim world, and to lobby the U.S. Government and policymakers to stop supporting dictators and corrupt regimes in the region. CSID, explained Dr. Masmoudi, cannot do its work without the support of the American people, Muslim and non-Muslims alike, and urged those in attendance to support CSID in any way that they can.
Dr. Masmoudi went on to introduce Dr. Asma Afsaruddin, Chair of CSID and Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Afsaruddin began her talk with a personal observation regarding why I chose to become involved with CSID. Why, after all, when I already had a full-time job and plenty of other demands on my time The answer is simple and obvious: because I wholeheartedly believe in the mission of CSID which is to promote civil and democratic societies in the Islamic world. Why would I believe in this? Because Muslims deserve to live in such societies, and because such societies have been idealized in Muslim thought and history from the very beginning.
Referring to CSIDs historic and groundbreaking workshop in December 2005 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia titled Shura, Democracy and Good Governance; a workshop created in cooperation with the King Faisal Center for Islamic Research and the Advisory Council to the Saudi King (Majlis Al-Shura), Dr. Afsaruddin emphasized the inherent achievement:
The bottom line remains that it was only CSID, with our academic and international standing and credibility among both Muslims and non-Muslims, which could lobby as we did in order to successfully hold such a historic workshop. Our track record is chock full of such remarkable firsts and milestone achievements. The workshop itself was an unqualified success, not because we converted everyone to the idea of democratic governance overnight and brought about an ideological coup, so to speak. But because we got a conversation going about the importance of these principles and the need to engage them in the context of promoting the welfare, the maslaha, of Muslim peoples everywhere.
Dr. Afsaruddin proceeded to note that we cannot keep up this trajectory of spectacular contributions and growth at such a critical time without your absolutely crucial help and continued support.
To conclude the evenings proceedings, Sheikh Abdullah Idris, Public Speaker and Former President of ISNA (1992 1997), reiterated the huge importance of CSIDs work, and the duty all the children of Abraham have to support one another across ethnic and geographic divides in any way that they can. His pledge, he explained, is to educate youth in Muslim schools on the compatibility of Islamic principles with a number of essential modern and democratic values on display in America, through a civic education textbook.